The Possibilities are Infinite
by Michy's Minions
Summary: Jemma and Skye wake up in the interrogation room of the bus, but something isn't right. Everything is different. What is wrong with their team? How are they supposed to tell friend from foe?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of the wonderful characters in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. **

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><p>The throbbing in her head gradually increased as Jemma Simmons gained consciousness. She had been ICEd; she could feel the final effects of the dendrotoxin working its way through her body. If any one knew the effect the small ICER bullet could make on a person it was Jemma, after all, she was partly responsible for it's creation.<p>

The hard surface below told her that she was lying on the floor. _But where was she? _ Her eyelids heavy, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. She was lying on the floor of the interrogation room. The cold, metal room was empty except for her and the unconscious figure of one other person.

"Skye," she exclaimed, gently touching the hacker's shoulder. "Skye, wake up."

Skye gave a moan, turning over. "Jemma? Where are we? What happened?"

Jemma sat up, the room spinning slightly as the effects of the dendrotoxin still washed over her. "We are in the interrogation room, on the bus. We..."

Her voice trailed off. Jemma didn't know how to finish that sentence. She couldn't remember what had happened prior to them waking up, at least not everything. It was just bits and pieces. There were only chunks of time, jumbled and confusing. They were in the lab. Fitz was there, but no, he had left the room. It had just been her and Skye looking over the device. But what device? She couldn't remember. It was a blank. _What_ had happened?

"Where's everyone else?" Skye got to her feet, walking around, rubbing her hand down the textured metal walls. She looked up at the video camera that was mounted in the corner. "Hello," she said in a singsong voice, waving at the blinking red light.

Standing to her feet, Jemma made her way to the door, pulling on the handle. The door didn't budge. They were locked in the room.

Fear began to replace the confusion. This was the bus, their bus, why would they need to be locked away from their own people? They had been messing with a device, an alien device, something they had never seen before. Had the device done something to them, making them a danger to themselves or the team? Memories began to swirl in her mind of the infection hidden away in the Chitauri helmet. She had almost died. She had nearly blown the bus out of the sky. What was she in for this time?

A myriad of emotions surged through her. They needed to get to the lab; they needed to figure things out. She tried the door handle one last time. This time it moved, but she wasn't the one who had moved it. The door swung open, Director Coulson standing in the frame. A wave of relief passed over her, but one look at his face and the feeling left as quickly as it came.

"Sit." His voice was hard and authoritative as he spoke to the two girls. His eyes were on Skye, but the look in them was not the usual affection he showed for the young hacker, instead it was anger and distrust.

Both Jemma and Skye scrambled into seats at the metal table, their eyes on their supervisor. The two girls exchanged hurried looks of fear. They had never seen Coulson like this. What had they done?

"A.C., I..." Skye began tentatively, but Coulson cut her off.

"How did you get into this facility? How long have you been here?" Coulson's eyes were on Skye as he spoke.

Skye shrunk back against her chair as Jemma spoke up. "Director Coulson, sir. We don't…" Coulson's head moved slightly in Jemma's direction, but he didn't meet her eyes.

"This is the most secure base in the world, how did you find it?" Coulson interjected as if Jemma hadn't said anything at all, his gaze returning to Skye. Jemma was starting to get the feeling that she was being ignored completely.

"What are you talking about?" Skye said, her eyes wide in confusion. "I came with you, with the team. Simmons was here before both of us."

"Stop." Coulson's voice was hard as he held up a hand, quieting Skye again. "You are an enemy of this establishment. You and… You are not supposed to be here."

"Sir?" May was now standing in the doorway, her hands linked behind her back as she waited for Coulson to turn around. Unlike Coulson, her eyes flickered to Jemma. There was shock and confusion on the face that was usually devoid of emotion. May's eyes went back to Coulson. "What do you need?"

"Answers." Coulson stood. "I need to know how they got here. I need to know _who_ they are."

For the first time Coulson looked over at Jemma. His eyes looked like he was staring at a ghost.

Icy cold fear was now coursing through Jemma's veins. "What is going on?"

"We deserve to know what is going on," Skye added.

Coulson had turned his cold eyes back on the girls. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a new voice joined the confusion.

"Sir?"

The owner of the voice was just out of view, but Jemma recognized the voice immediately. "Fitz!" She called out desperately, needing to see someone who could comfort her, someone who would make sense of all of this.

"May, stop him." Coulson called out, but it was too late, the curly haired engineer had already entered the room.

May tried to block Fitz from the table, but he had already seen Jemma. His eyes went wide as he stared back at her.

"No, no, no," Fitz was chanting over and over, his voice panicked. Jemma knew the behavior. But it was now May's hands around him instead of hers, May holding him and keeping him from losing control. That was supposed to be Jemma's job.

"Fitz!" Jemma cried again. He looked at her, but the look she saw in his eyes sent ice to her core. He was scared of her.

"Fitz, it's not…" May began to say, trying to find something she could say that would comfort him.

"No!" Fitz's eyes were still locked with hers. "No, She's… No. Coulson what the hell is going on? Who…"

Coulson went over to Fitz and put his hand on his shoulder. His voice was quieter, more like the Coulson that Jemma knew so well. "As soon as I have answers, you will have answers. Send Brooks in here to run tests. Now go, that's an order."

Nodding stiffly, Fitz looked one more time at Jemma before turning and vanishing through the door.

Coulson looked at May. "Go with him, make sure he is okay." With a nod, she too disappeared through the door.

"She's what?" Jemma said as Coulson turned his attention back to his two prisoners. "_I'm _what?"

"Dead."

"What?!" both girls exclaimed at the exact same time.

"I'm not dead," Jemma replied. "I'm very, very much alive."

Her eyes trailed to the door where Fitz had disappeared. Why did they think she was dead? They had just been in the lab. It hadn't been that long since she had seen everyone. They had eaten breakfast as a team. Jemma had made pancakes. She had even made Fitz his special pancake, just like she always did, a little monkey head made out of blueberries and bananas. She was pretty sure she would know if she was dead.

"What about me?" Skye asked, looking back at Coulson. "Am I dead too."

"I don't know you," Coulson replied, the coldness returning to his voice.

"You… You don't _know _me?"

"Well, we have never met, officially." Coulson exaggerated. "I know of you. You are the leader of the Rising Tide, an affiliate of Hydra."

"Hydra?" Skye's mouth was open in shock. "I'm not Hydra. I'm an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.."

The door opened again and this time it was Jemma and Skye's turn to do a double take. Ward walked in, his eyes immediately going to Coulson.

"Sir, Trip found something, I think you are going to want to see this."

"I'll be there in a moment," Coulson replied.

Both girls had leapt to their feet. "He's Hydra," Skye said, pointing at Ward. "He's working with the Clairvoyant - Garrett. He's been Hydra all along."

"What?" Ward responded his voice clearly offended at the accusation. "Garrett's gone."

"He's lying," Skye yelled back. "He's Garrett's inside man."

Jemma just stayed quiet, her eyes on Ward's. The last time she had seen him, he had pushed the button that had sent the med pod plummeting to the bottom of the ocean. He had sent both her and Fitz to their deaths. Is that why they thought she was dead?

"This is all wrong. Something's wrong," Skye said, shaking her head. "I'm not Hydra," she continued, cringing at the thought. "And Jemma's not dead. What have you done with our team?"

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><p><strong>More to come.<strong>

**Please leave me a comment or message and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all of the awesome comments; keep 'em coming! The new season has almost killed me, but I'm having fun with this fic. Just to clarify, this is set somewhere in the break after season one before Simmons left. **

**I do not own Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. – I am unable to inflict as much torture as the real writers have. **

**XXXXX**

**Chapter Two**

Phil Coulson stood in the command center, watching the live feed from the interrogation room. He watched as Agent Rebecca Brooks moved around the two girls taking various readings and running different tests. He hoped their new biochem specialist would be able to give them more answers than they currently had.

No one could ever replace Simmons, but three months after her death, Coulson had been told that he needed to find a replacement. Brooks had been sent from HQ the very next day.

Brooks was young and inexperienced, but she at least knew her stuff. The team had warmed up to her quick enough – except Fitz. Coulson doubted that Fitz would ever be okay with anyone other than Simmons at his side. Coulson had been prepared to have to find a new engineer too, sure that Fitz would not stay without Simmons, but to his surprise Fitz came to him and said that he would stay. He had made a promise to Simmons that he would continue working for S.H.I.E.L.D., that he would do whatever was necessary to take down Hydra.

With a sigh, Coulson turned to stare at the monitor again, watching their two visitors closely. Nothing about this felt right. He was staring at a ghost from the past and a girl that didn't belong. Where were they from?

"Sir, You're going to want to see this."

"What did you find?" Coulson asked, turning away from the monitor to look as Triplett walked into the control center.

"I looked through the security footage from the lab. I don't know who our visitors are, but they didn't use the front door."

"What are you saying?" Coulson asked.

"Sir, I can't explain it, but they just appeared out of nowhere." Triplett shrugged his shoulders as he brought up the footage on the holodeck.

Coulson watched the surveillance tape roll. The lab was empty. Fitz and Brooks had been in the kitchen; Coulson had been speaking with them minutes before everything had happened. Suddenly a blinding white light interrupted the feed. When the picture normalized, the two girls were there. Triplett kept the tape rolling, showing May come flying in the room, taking both girls out with an ICER.

"You can stop it there, I remember the rest." Coulson had come in soon after May, helping to take the unconscious girls to the interrogation room. "Is there any indication of something that could have done this, something out of place?"

"Only this." Triplett brought up a photo of something that Coulson had never seen before. It was a small, metal, triangular object. It had inscriptions around the sides and a blue stone in the middle. "We found it on the floor where the girls appeared."

"What is it?" Coulson asked, examining the picture.

"We're not sure, sir," Triplett replied. "Fitz followed biohazard protocol and has the object in containment. I've run these symbols through every S.H.I.E.L.D. database we have. It's nothing we've seen before."

"We need to learn more about this object - what it is, where it's from. We no longer have the resources and manpower of big S.H.I.E.L.D.. We have to do it on our own."

At that moment Brooks and May walked into the room, joining the others around the holotable.

Coulson looked at May. "Fitz?"

"Best as can be expected. He's in the lab, pouring over that foreign object. Ward is with him now."

Coulson nodded. "Okay people, we need answers, if anything for Fitz." Coulson looked at Brooks expectantly, waiting for her report.

"Preliminary results are in," Brooks said. "I have no records for one of the women. She has no fingerprint or DNA samples on file with S.H.I.E.L.D.. She is a complete ghost, like her identity doesn't exist at all."

"The only evidence I found of her is what you already know," Triplett added, bringing up a fuzzy picture of a girl leaving a California diner, laptop in hand. "All the information we have is that her name is Skye and she is the leader of the Rising Tide. She is single handedly responsible for many of the Rising Tide's most recent victories. "

This was not new information to Coulson. They had been chasing the Rising Tide for almost a year. The once small Hacktivist group had grown to a threat when they had joined forces with Ian Quinn and Centipede. The group had turned into the ultimate independent intelligence building group for Hydra.

They had spent the last year working on failed attempts to infiltrate and bring down the Rising Tide and Centipede. They thought they had almost caught a break in the case the day that Ian Quinn shot Jemma Simmons in the stomach. It felt like the good guys would never win. After learning that Hydra had been inside S.H.I.E.L.D. the entire time, Coulson was beginning to lose hope.

Breaking himself out of his reverie, Coulson turned his attention once again on Brooks. "And the other one?"

Brooks looked at the monitor where the two girls were staring at the wall. "The woman in there is Jemma Simmons. DNA and fingerprints confirm a one hundred percent match."

"Could she be some sort of clone?" Triplett asked.

"I'll know more when the full report of her blood work comes back, but no, from my preliminary findings I do not believe that she is a clone. I can't explain it, but she is Jemma Simmons in every way."

"Could she have survived? Could she have found the missing GH.325?" May asked. The atmosphere in the room thickened with just the mention of the drug that had once brought Coulson back from the dead.

"That's a possibility," Brooks said quietly.

The group all turned their heads to look at the security monitor. Could someone have done the same to Simmons as they had with Coulson? Coulson had asked Fitz and Simmons to learn more about the GH.325 right before her death. They had gone to the secret base where they believed the drug to be held, but the base was in ruins. John Garrett had gotten there first. If Simmons really had been brought back with the GH.325 that meant that Hydra was likely behind her resurrection, a possibility no one wanted to think about.

"So that really is Jemma." The group turned around to see Fitz standing in the doorway. Fitz's voice was flat, his eyes puffy and his face white.

Ward came jogging up behind Fitz. "Sorry, sir…" Coulson waved off the apology. He knew they wouldn't be able to protect Fitz from this forever.

Fitz walked into the room apprehensively, his eyes flickering to the security cameras and back to the group. "I want to talk to her."

"Fitz…" Coulson began, but Fitz cut him off.

"You want to know if that is our Jemma Simmons, well so do I. Sir, I need to talk with her."

Coulson looked back at him, completely disliking the idea of Fitz in the room with the two girls, but reluctantly he shook his head. "Okay, but I'm going in with you and I want you to let me do the talking. And May, I want you in there with us. We don't know who they are or how they got here, I need you to be ready. Let's go."

May and Fitz both shook their heads. They began the short trek to the interrogation room. If it was possible, Fitz looked even paler than he had been when he had first walked in. Fitz stopped right outside the interrogation room door and took a labored breath.

"You don't need to do this," May said, her voice calm and steady. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Fitz looked back at Coulson and May. "Yes I do." He squared his shoulders and opened the door to the interrogation room.

Skye sat up straighter as Coulson and the others entered the room, but Simmons had leapt to her feet.

"Fitz!"

Coulson placed a hand on Fitz's arm, stopping him from responding as Coulson addressed the girls. "We have security footage showing you appearing in our lab out of thin air. Explain."

Simmons looked petrified as she sat back down. Coulson wasn't sure if the look was from his own cold interrogation or if it was from Fitz's stony gaze.

"I am Skye and this is Jemma Simmons. We are both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. working for Director Coulson at the Playground."

"Director Coulson?" May said, unmasked surprise laced in her voice.

Coulson looked back at the girls. "The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is Maria Hill. She took over after Director Fury's death."

"No, that's not right," Skye said, almost defensively. "Coulson – You – took over. And Fury isn't dead."

"He's dead," Coulson replied sharply. Where was she getting her information? Fury's survival from the attack of the Winter Soldier was not even known by most S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. "Tell me about the lab. How did you get here?"

"We were working in the lab, examining an 0-8-4 that we had found." Simmons spoke up. Coulson felt Fitz stiffen at just the sound of her voice, but he didn't say anything as Simmons continued. "Fitz got frustrated and pushed everything off the table. As Fitz stormed out of the room, Skye and I bent down to grab the 0-8-4 from the floor. We both touched it at the same time, that's all I remember before waking up here."

Coulson's eyes went back and forth between the two girls, trying to decipher if they were lying.

"Is this the 0-8-4?" Fitz had been standing quietly in the back of the room just watching Simmons, but now stepped forward, brandishing a picture of the unknown object they had found in the lab.

"Yes," Simmons replied, looking into Fitz's eyes. He looked back for a split second before shifting his gaze.

"What is it?" Coulson asked.

"We don't know," Simmons replied. "Before we had the chance to completely finish looking over it we ended up _here_."

"So your not Director Coulson," Skye asked carefully. Coulson shook his head in response. "I'm the leader of the Rising Tide and Simmons is _dead._ This isn't our universe is it?"

"What?" Coulson gave the girl a puzzled look.

"Well this is one of those parallel universe things or something, right?" She looked around at both Fitz and Simmons. "I mean; it has to be."

"It's the multiverse theory." Simmons began. "It states that many universes exist…"

"Parallel to each other." Fitz finished Simmons' statement. "Are you saying you think you are from a parallel universe?"

"Well, it's the only thing that makes sense." Skye continued. "That's why things are different. I never became an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson never became the director, Ward isn't the lying, evil, son of a…"

"And you didn't get married." Fitz's statement cut Skye off. His eyes were on Simmons.

Coulson watched as the two girls turned to look at the young engineer. Their eyes widened as they suddenly noticed the simple gold band on his left finger.

"We're…" Simmons said, her voice barely over a whisper.

"Married."

**XXXXXXX**

**Please leave a comment, review or suggestion. They really help to keep the muses running! Anything you want to see done in this strange new universe?**

**P.S. – I am not a scientist, so if I say something that sounds stupid, sorry…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Fitz had seen some strange things in his tenure with S.H.I.E.L.D.. He had worked on devices that looked like they belonged in a science fiction movie and created technology that was fifty years ahead of anything in the public sector. He had even met an alien! But nothing could have prepared him for this.

Jemma Simmons was his best friend, the one person he could count on above all others. But he carried a secret. He had loved her from the minute he met her. He was sure she would never feel the same way, after all, she could get any guy she wanted, why would she choose him? They were destined to be friends - and nothing more - forever.

But he was wrong.

He would never forget the night at the Academy that she professed her feelings for him. He had just stood there, slack jawed, staring at her, sure that he had imagined the words he had always wanted to hear. He didn't know what to say back, so he just sat there and stared at her. She ran out of the Boiler Room, thinking he didn't feel the same. But he did. He ran after her, grabbing her arm to stop her and kissed her right there. They had been together ever since.

The day she said yes to his marriage proposal he knew he was the luckiest guy in the world.

The already formidable duo became an unstoppable force in S.H.I.E.L.D., their talents sought over by every S.H.I.E.L.D. team. Everyone knew that FitzSimmons were the best. They had landed one of the best positions out there when they agreed to work on Coulson's team. But then tragedy struck.

What had started as a simple undercover operation turned deadly when Ian Quinn shot Jemma in the stomach. They had done everything possible to try to save her, even flying all over the world to find a mysterious miracle drug, but their miracle never came. The guesthouse had already been destroyed and the GH.325 was never found.

Fitz had never felt a stronger pain. He would never be able to see Jemma again. Hydra had taken her from him.

But now she was sitting there, right in front of him. She looked the same, spoke the same, everything about her was identical. He could even smell her shampoo, the same smell that had still not completely disappeared from his bunk. But this wasn't his Jemma. His Jemma was gone.

"So this 0-8-4 is some sort of alternate universe portal?"

Coulson's question broke Fitz out of his reverie. He realized that everyone was looking at him including _this _Jemma. "Without studying the device closer…" Fitz began. "There is no way for me to be certain."

"We need to study the device then," Jemma said. She had moved her eyes away from Fitz and back on Coulson. "That device may be the only thing that can get us back home."

"How do we know it's safe?" May said from the corner.

"We have to do something." Skye replied. "We obviously do not belong here."

Coulson was eyeing both girls closely like he was trying to decide if he could trust them. "Tell me about your universe."

The question took everyone by surprise. Fitz didn't really see what knowing about their universe had to do with the device that had gotten them there, but Coulson was trying to learn more about the girls before he trusted them enough to help.

The girls looked at each other, also wondering if they could trust the others, but they had nothing left to lose. "We are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. working for Director Coulson," Skye began, echoing some of what she had already told them. "Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., causing the organization to crumble. Fury is alive, but he stepped down, leaving Coulson in charge. We are based out of the Playground, one of the few remaining secure S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. Ward is a Hydra spy. He tried to kill Fitzsimmons, leaving Fitz with brain damage."

"Brain damage?" Fitz couldn't stop himself asking.

"Ward trapped us in a med pod at the bottom of the ocean." Jemma said, her voice shaking just slightly. "You figured a way of blowing the window, but there was only enough oxygen for one of us. You made me take it. You saved my life."

Her eyes were on locked on his and he realized he saw an emotion he almost didn't recognize. It was almost the look she had the night in the Boiler Room when she told him her feelings but it was different; like she had lost her nerve. It suddenly made Fitz wonder what her relationship with the _other_ Fitz was. Were they still nothing more but friends.

"Ward was Hydra." Coulson broke into the moment turning the conversation back.

"Yes," Fitz could hear the bitterness in Skye's voice as she replied. "He was John Garrett's lap dog. He had been playing us from the beginning."

"So you are dealing with the Hydra threat?" Coulson asked, prompting Skye to continue.

"Yes. That and the government. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been labeled a terrorist organization, so even the good guys want a piece of us now."

"Where did you get the 0-8-4?"

"Hydra." Jemma spoke up, answering Coulson. "We found a Hydra lab. We broke in and found this, but we know the lab has even more valuable assets. Director Coulson was actually about to start a mission to infiltrate the lab." Fitz saw her eyes dart back to him again, the look in them a mix of sadness and regret.

"Did Hydra know what they had?" Coulson asked, grabbing the picture of the 0-8-4 from the table.

"I don't think so, sir," Jemma replied. "We didn't even know what it was, only that they had taken it from a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. I guess we found out the hard way."

Something akin to a smile flickered on Coulson's face for a split second. "You can study the 0-8-4, try to see if you can find a way back. You can use the lab." Coulson's eyes moved to Fitz. He didn't say anything, but Fitz got the message. "I also want any and all information that your team has gathered on Hydra. Everything, even if it seems insignificant. It might not all be the same, but it might help."

Suddenly the alarm began to blare as the door to the interrogation room was thrown open. Ward was standing there with a tablet in his hand and a worried expression on his face.

"Sir, we have a problem."

Coulson jumped up from his spot and moved quickly to Ward. "What happened?"

"Someone found the base, they just hacked into the security. Everything has gone dark and we don't know where they are."

"Who is it?" Coulson asked.

"We managed to get one frame from the security camera before the feed was cut." Ward held up the tablet. Fitz moved to where he could see the picture, his mouth opening as he saw who it was.

"Is that…"

"Me," Skye had stood up and made her way to Ward and the tablet. "That's me. I'm - or shall I say, the Skye from this world - is infiltrating the base."

"We need to find them," Coulson said, his jaw going rigid with the new threat.

"Sir, I can help." Skye was looking at him with a determined look. "After all, who knows how she would operate better than me?"

Coulson looked at Skye for a second, trying to decide if it was actually a good idea before he came to a decision. "Fine. Go with Ward." He looked at her one more time before looking back at Ward. "Keep an eye on her. May, go find Triplett and see if he has any way to track her movements."

"Sir, what can we…" Jemma began as the others ran out of the room, but Coulson cut her off.

"FitzSimmons, you can…" Coulson suddenly stopped, realizing what he had said. Fitz hadn't heard anyone use the name FitzSimmons in so long. He missed the name and what it represented. He felt a simultaneous pang of grief and happiness. Coulson looked at Jemma. "Take a look at the 0-8-4, see if you can figure out what it is." He turned his attention onto Fitz, his face suddenly softer. "You don't have to do this, I won't make it an order."

Fitz looked from Coulson over to Jemma. He took a deep breath before replying. "Thank you sir, but I'm fine. We will figure out what the device is."

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, favorited and reviewed!<strong>

**I would love your comments or reviews! They mean so much more to me than you even realize!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Skye felt strange running next to Ward, working together again. It was like some strange déjà vu. She could remember running through the halls of the Hub, Ward by her side. That was back when she thought everything could be okay. That was before she knew what Ward was.

But this Ward was different. Skye didn't know how she could tell, she just knew.

Skye was different too. A lot had changed since her beginning with S.H.I.E.L.D.. For once she had found a place she belonged and she wasn't going to let something like Hydra take that away from her. This was why, when Agent May had agreed to be her S.O., Skye had jumped at the opportunity. She had learned so much. Every day she could feel her body and mind growing stronger. But there were days that she found herself still missing Ward.

Running side by side, Skye and the new Ward made their way to the door that had been breached.

"You know, it would really help if I had a gun." Skye didn't break stride as she spoke, turning to look at Ward.

Ward surveyed her for a moment, probably trying to figure out how much he trusted her. Skye almost found the situation laughable. Back home he was the one that couldn't be trusted, yet here she was the one being looked at like she could turn at any minute.

Finally making up his mind, Ward pulled a gun from the side of his leg. "It's an ICER," he clarified. "I doubt you want to pull an actual gun on yourself."

"Thank you," Skye said earnestly, stowing the gun at her side. When they made it to the door they came to a stop. Skye immediately went to the door panel, popped off the panel and got to work.

"Well?" she heard Ward ask.

"She knows what she's doing, I'll give her that." Skye said with a hint of a smile. "The girl's good."

"What did she do?"

"She found a way to route the security system to an off site host. She probably has it bouncing off of a couple of different routers and ending on a tablet that she can control." Skye began, doing her best to work and fill Ward in simultaneously. "We have to find a way to cut her out of the system. But she anticipated that we would immediately try to fix it, so she planted a Trojan horse that started encrypting every system. I need to get through the firewall before we can even begin to fix the damage."

"Can you get through it?" Ward asked.

Skye looked at him for a second, a small smirk on her face. "She knew all the tricks to keep someone out, good thing I know her tricks."

An actual smile passed over Ward's features. This Ward was different in a lot of respects, but there was still one thing that the Wards had in common – neither of them wanted to show their emotions too openly.

"So… the Ward in your universe… he's, he's Hydra?" Skye's eyes flickered towards Ward but she continued to work. It was obvious that he had wanted to ask this question from the moment that they had split off from the group.

"Yes," Skye replied, a slight touch of malice in her voice. "We thought he was our friend, our teammate, and he turned on us.

Skye heard an angry exhale of air come from Ward, almost like a growl. "So what happened to him?"

Skye actually stopped working and turned to regard him closely. She could see the hatred in his eyes – the hatred for himself and what he did. But it wasn't him who had done those heinous acts; it was a different Ward.

"We have him locked up, we keep him for information." Skye replied as she began to work again. "Something good has to come from all of the horrible things he has done. At least we now have a way to learn what Hydra is doing next."

"And he nearly killed Fitzsimmons?"

"Yes," Skye said, her voice somber. "Fitz hasn't been the same ever since, and neither has Simmons. She won't talk about it, but I know more happened in that med pod than what they will say."

"And what about you?" Ward asked, moving closer to Skye just ever so slightly.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at him again.

"What did he do to you?" Ward clarified. "It's obvious that he did something."

Skye didn't know what to say. There were so many things that Ward had done to her. He had taken her heart, just to stomp on it. He had expressed his desire for her – even after it was clear that he was Hydra. For so long she had kept her heart guarded, hurt too many times. Then the moment she opened it up… Ward had hurt her more than anyone knew.

"He betrayed us all," Skye said simply, not willing to go into more detail.

Ward watched her for a second, a look in his eyes like he could see right through her. "I see," was all he replied, but Skye knew he could tell. He knew that Skye had once cared for him.

"I'm done," Skye said, desperate to change the subject.

"Good," Ward's demeanor changed at once. "We need to find them."

"I think I have a way." Skye held up her phone. "She was almost perfect, but everyone makes mistakes. She's using a tablet and I can track it."

"Where is she?"

"Not far," she replied, showing him the phone.

"We are closest." Ward said. He hit the small comm on his ear, speaking into it. "Coulson, we found her. We are in pursuit." He looked back at Skye. "Let's go."

Once again they were running through the halls of the Playground. Ward had taken the phone, holding it out in front of him as they moved through the halls, using it to monitor their intruder. As they got closer, Ward changed speeds. Skye followed suit. She took the ICER from her side and held it in front of her.

Ward's finger over his lips, they made their way around the corner. For a second Skye stopped, her eyes wide. She was standing right in front of herself. She had been prepared, she knew that she was about to see her double – the Skye that belonged in this universe – but it was still different when she actually saw it.

If Skye's surprise was something, it was nothing compared to the look on the other Skye's face. The other Skye turned, holding up a handgun, but stopped frozen. Her mouth opened like she was about to say something, but Ward had already acted. With three small pops the other Skye and her two companions were taken out with an ICER.

"Let's move them," Ward said, looking at the three intruders. He looked over and saw the look on Skye's face. "You okay?"

Skye nodded, snapping herself out of it. "Of course," she said nodding as Ward made the call to Coulson to get backup, but her eyes slipped back to her unconscious body on the floor.

* * *

><p>There was a palpable tension in the lab as Jemma moved around. She could feel Fitz's eyes on her back, but every time she turned around he shifted his gaze.<p>

"Did you find anything?" Jemma asked, actually making her way over to Fitz and stopping by his side.

"Maybe," he said. He turned to look at her but his eyes didn't quite catch hers. "Take a look at this." He pushed a readout that one of the DWARFs had collected so that Jemma could look at it.

"I see, it's like the…"

"Right!" Fitz said, excitement in his voice. "It looks like the device is actually giving off energy connecting to…"

"The trans-matter bridge." Jemma smiled. It felt good to work with Fitz again. At home he kept fighting her, getting frustrated at the smallest of things. Things just hadn't been the same. Jemma stood back, looking at the device. "So, if we just touch it again, will it send us home?"

"I don't know how to tell." Fitz said. "It might, or you could get trapped somewhere between the realities. We need to run a few more tests."

"What if we do this?" she asked, calibrating one of the DWARFs to circle around the device.

"Yes," Fitz replied. He looked over to her, a look of admiration in his eyes.

She squirmed slightly under his gaze. "How about we go get a cup of tea," Jemma said. "We've been working for hours, I could use a break."

Fitz stopped and looked at her like he wasn't sure if he really wanted to go with her. Jemma could see the internal struggle he was going through. She could only imagine what he was going through. It was obvious that he still hadn't gotten over the loss of the Jemma of this world. He probably never would.

But he obviously decided that it was okay to go because he slowly nodded and followed Jemma out of the lab. Jemma filled a teakettle with water and set it to boil. She grabbed two mugs and teabags out of the cabinet.

"You're just like her."

Jemma turned, surprised by Fitz's comment. Fitz was just sitting quietly at the table, but his eyes were watching her closely, paying attention to every move she made.

Jemma wasn't totally sure how to respond. "Well, I guess we are similar," she replied. "But there are differences too."

"And you and him – the Fitz where you are from – you never got together."

Jemma's face went red and she wanted to chuckle, to do something to release the tension, but it wasn't a laughing matter. "No," she said. "We're just friends. _Best _friends." But Jemma knew she wasn't telling the full truth. They were best friends, but there was something else there. Fitz had told her that she was more but Jemma hadn't said it back. She didn't know how.

"Oh," Fitz said, his face scrunched up as he thought. "I can't imagine him not feeling the same way about her that I do… about you."

Jemma squirmed slightly. "He… he does." She quickly moved to make the tea, desperate for something to do besides feel Fitz's eyes on her.

"Oh," Fitz repeated, but he didn't say anything else.

Jemma grabbed the cup and placed it in front of Fitz. "He's my best friend in the world."

"But nothing more than that?" Fitz's voice was lower than usual, his eyes burning right through her. She knew he could tell. He knew that she was lying to herself saying that she didn't feel the same.

Sitting down, putting her hands on the sides of the warm mug, she looked down at the table. "I don't know."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!<strong>


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